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About the Book

About the Book

The Cold Millions

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of BEAUTIFUL RUINS comes another “literary miracle” (NPR) --- a propulsive, richly entertaining novel about two brothers swept up in the turbulent class warfare of the early 20th century.

An intimate story of brotherhood, love, sacrifice and betrayal set against the panoramic backdrop of an early 20th-century America that eerily echoes our own time, THE COLD MILLIONS offers a  kaleidoscopic portrait of a nation grappling with the chasm between rich and poor, between harsh realities and simple dreams.

The Dolans live by their wits, jumping freight trains and lining up for day work at crooked job agencies. While 16-year-old Rye yearns for a steady job and a home, his older brother, Gig, dreams of a better world, fighting alongside other union men for fair pay and decent treatment. Enter Ursula the Great, a vaudeville singer who performs with a live cougar and introduces the brothers to a far more dangerous creature: a mining magnate determined to keep his wealth and his hold on Ursula.

Dubious of Gig’s idealism, Rye finds himself drawn to a fearless 19-year-old activist and feminist named Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. But a storm is coming, threatening to overwhelm them all, and Rye will be forced to decide where he stands. Is it enough to win the occasional battle, even if you cannot win the war?

Featuring an unforgettable cast of cops and tramps, suffragists and socialists, madams and murderers, THE COLD MILLIONS is a tour de force from a “writer who has planted himself firmly in the first rank of American authors” (Boston Globe).

Audiobook available; read by Edoardo Ballerini, Gary Farmer, Marin Ireland, Cassandra Campbell, MacLeod Andrews, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Mike Ortego, Rex Anderson, Charlie Thurston and Frankie Corzo

The Cold Millions
by Jess Walter

  • Publication Date: September 28, 2021
  • Genres: Fiction
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial
  • ISBN-10: 0062868098
  • ISBN-13: 9780062868091